Confident Cornwall: Why British politics needs to stop marginalising its regional nations to save the UK

Abstract

The referendum for Scottish independence from the UK has once more opened up the question of the relationship between the government in Westminster and the English regions. Whilst the coalition government focus on the divide between the North of England and the South, Labour recently announced plans for the transfer of greater powers from central government to ‘city regions’ and ‘county regions’. For Cornwall however, it is unclear whether the rationalism of much of British politics would once more overlook Cornish demands with regards to the relationship between Westminster and the ‘English’ regions. Much of this uncertainty stems from a long-standing reluctance on the part of central government to respect the borders and territorial integrity of Cornwall for governance or economic purposes...